Resurrection Chapter 126 - He Didn’t Lie

“I’m just like this. When I’m answering a voice that only I can hear in my head, it’s like I’m talking to myself.”

Baek Seorin said, “Ah…” with a look of someone who had just reached a new understanding. Just then, the elevator arrived, and Kim Piljoong boarded it with her and asked.

“Where are you headed?”

“Oh, I was actually on my way to see the Captain. The analysis results for the monster break detector are out.”

The atmosphere among the people who boarded the elevator with them tensed up for a moment. Until now, they had mainly relied on the abilities of great shamans like Tae Yeongwoo to prepare for monster breaks, but that could not go on forever.

In Tae Yeongwoo’s case, he had become an old man so frail that it wouldn’t be strange if he stopped breathing at any moment due to excessively frequent spirit possessions. Since they couldn’t afford to waste the few great shamans they had in such a way, the Eeicheong was striving to build a system to predict monster breaks.

Although it was still in the testing phase, Kim Piljoong quickly took the materials to look them over since the results were out. Behind him, Baek Seorin was fidgeting restlessly.

“I’m afraid the detector’s performance hasn’t stabilized yet. The results came out a bit strange, so I was on my way to see you and explain in person.”

“Hmm, no. The results came out fine.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, they came out fine.”

“There’s no way they came out fine…? According to these results, it means a monster break will occur in every single dungeon.”

Kim Piljoong did not deny Baek Seorin’s muttering. He nodded his head easily as if it were no big deal.

“That’s right. Tae Yeongwoo said so too.”

Baek Seorin swallowed a gasp. A few others who happened to be on the elevator with them and had just heard the tremendous news did the same.

Technically, it was classified information, but Kim Piljoong didn’t pay it much mind. It was going to be officially announced soon anyway, and how could people prepare if they didn’t know anything?

The people in the elevator hurriedly took out their cell phones. Leaving behind the sight of them rushing to contact their families and relatives, Kim Piljoong and Baek Seorin got off the elevator.

He led the half-dazed Baek Seorin straight into the conference room. Several Special Task Force team leaders were gathered there. Excluding those who were out on separate missions like Kang Cheoljun, a total of eight people saw Kim Piljoong and shot up from their seats to salute him. Kim Piljoong went to his seat, returned their salute, and began a quick briefing.

“Based on what I heard from Tae Yeongwoo, and looking at the results from the monster break detector that just came out, an unprecedented monster break is about to happen. I suspect it will be a disaster on par with the Big Shock, the very first monster break.”

At Kim Piljoong’s words, a mixture of gasps and groans burst from the team leaders’ mouths. Kim Piljoong continued speaking without a pause, as if to give them no chance to be shocked.

“That’s right, signs of a monster break are being detected in every dungeon. Soon, the monsters will start pouring out, beginning with the weaker ones. Within an hour, the president will declare martial law, and a nationwide evacuation order will be issued. All Awakened individuals will gather at their regional assembly points within 24 hours to form a defensive line.”

The longer Kim Piljoong spoke, the more the reality of what was about to happen seemed to sink in. As the team leaders’ faces turned pale, Kim Piljoong issued orders in a businesslike tone.

“The mission of our Special Task Force is to evacuate key personnel to Elysium and defend Sejong City. Everyone should already be familiar with the operational plan for the temporary capital defense strategy, so just follow it. A few requisitioned assault squads will be cooperating, and I will command them myself. Any questions?”

The team leaders remained silent. They were all too stunned to grasp the situation after hearing that a monster break would occur in every dungeon. Come to think of it, it had been a long time of peace since the new divine power began. Realizing that nearly half of the team leaders sitting there were of the new generation, Kim Piljoong slammed his hand on the table—Thump!

“Snap out of it. No matter what disaster strikes, we just have to do our jobs. If you see a monster, kill it. If you see a civilian, protect them! That is the reason our Special Task Force exists. If you understand, get moving, now!”

The team leaders shot up from their seats, saluted, and rushed out. Only Baek Seorin remained seated, as if she had something more to say. When Kim Piljoong turned his gaze to her, Baek Seorin showed a hint of conflict and said.

“Sir, I know this is not what you ordered. However, this is something I was keeping an eye on, as it falls under our Okjamhwa’s jurisdiction…”

“What is it?”

“Yaksha, I mean, Shin Rion.”

Kim Piljoong had already heard from Go Jae-i that the Director of Eeicheong had taken Shin Rion’s shattered corpse. However, he didn’t know where it had been taken, and it seemed Baek Seorin had found out. She seemed conflicted about whether she should even be telling him, so Kim Piljoong nodded his head as if to tell her to continue. Soon, after swallowing nervously, Baek Seorin’s report followed.

“It seems to have been moved to a now-closed university research lab, and it appears Dr. Seo Giyong is there.”

“Dr. Seo Giyong? Who was that? The name sounds familiar.”

“He was the director of the Cloning Research Center.”

Even after hearing the word ‘cloning,’ Kim Piljoong was not surprised. It was something he had vaguely anticipated.

Shin Rion, in his comatose state, was a valuable national asset before he was a person. The highest-level Transcendent who had defeated A-Ryong. Setting aside the ability granted by a god, if they could just clone the body that surpassed human limits, the ways to use it were endless. If done right, they might even be able to overcome the current situation of having to rely on the Overlords through the Awakened system.

It was a line of thought plausible enough for the Director of Eeicheong, who loathed the Awakened. Kim Piljoong asked calmly.

“It seems they intend to clone Shin Rion’s body. Do you happen to know how far they’ve progressed?”

“Progress… I understand he has already been cloned.”

“He’s already been cloned?”

Kim Piljoong was finally surprised. He hadn’t thought cloning an Awakened person’s body would be easy. The fact that humans belong to the Awakened system, and that they can exhibit supernatural abilities beyond human limits as a result, is all power that originates from the Overlords. He had thought that even if human cloning technology were to Ctrl+V Shin Rion, the result would just be an ordinary human body. To hear that they had already succeeded was bound to be surprising.

“I’m not sure how it was possible, so I can’t explain it to you. But the Shin Rion cloning project has made significant progress, and it seems a demo version is already out. Actually, what I’m worried about isn’t the project itself.”

“Then what… Don’t tell me.”

As Kim Piljoong, who was about to ask another question, voiced the thought that suddenly occurred to him, Baek Seorin swallowed hard and nodded.

“Yes. Yaksha might still be alive.”

“Ninety-eight…”

I thrust my magic sword straight into the face of a monster charging at me. The monster shuddered and died, and another one lunged at me from behind it.

“Ninety-nine…”

I bent low at the waist, dodging the tentacle the creature swung like a whip. I spun halfway around and sliced deep into its side. I kicked away the creature as its entrails spilled out, then kicked off the wall and leaped into a throng of swarming monsters, where I tore through their ranks for a while.

“One hundred! No, one hundred… and three, I think?”

I wiped the black blood that had splattered on my cheek and muttered. I had succeeded in the challenge of killing one hundred monsters using only support magic and swordsmanship. Even the Golden Emperor could not hide his admiration for my achievement.

—The Golden Emperor is pleased that your skills have improved by leaps and bounds. He praises you, saying that you can do it if you try.

I smiled in satisfaction and returned the praise to him.

‘Your Majesty, your vocabulary has become quite sophisticated as well. “Leaps and bounds.” To think you can now use four-character idioms so freely. You have attained a godlike dignity.’

—The Golden Emperor states that His Majesty has always been overflowing with dignity.

I chuckled at the idle banter. But that too was brief. The only reason I had attempted something like killing a hundred monsters without using attack magic was because I felt like I would go crazy if I didn’t do something.

For days now, I had been wandering through a complex labyrinth. I had lost my sense of time and direction long ago. My phone was completely dead, so I couldn’t check the time. My efforts to avoid backtracking by leaving marks at every junction were also futile. All kinds of monsters popped out from everywhere, making it impossible to go the way I wanted.

The only consolation was that the monsters weren’t very strong. Most of them were small and weak creatures forced to live hidden in such a narrow maze, so I was able to take down a hundred of them on my own.

But the longer I was trapped in the maze, the more disadvantageous it was for me. Heesoo hyung had survived for years in that hellish den, but it was uncertain if I could do the same. I tried not to think gloomy thoughts and started walking again.

How much longer did I wander like that?

Being all alone with no one around, all sorts of random thoughts came to mind. I especially thought a lot about the old days.

After becoming an Awakened, getting my revenge, and escaping the sewers, I didn’t know where to go or what to do. Thanks to stealing the assets the sewer gang had, I didn’t have to worry about making a living for a while, so I holed up in a container that hunters often used as temporary housing. For a while, I just ate my fill and then slept like a log, over and over.

The only reason I crawled out of there was because I ran out of money. I could get some living expenses for a while if I sold the equipment I brought from the sewers, but then I would have nothing left. I had no choice but to grab my gear and loiter in front of a dungeon, looking for work.